Minister pushes for inheritance tax overhaul

The South Korean government is stepping up efforts to overhaul its inheritance tax system next year, with the Finance Ministry preparing a bill to tax the inheritors instead of the estate that is being inherited. "To enhance fairness and ensure consistency in taxation, as well as align with global trends, the government plans to shift to an inheritance acquisition tax system," Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok said Monday in a meeting with journalists at the gove

Sept. 10, 2024

Finance minister calls for scrapping financial investment income tax

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has said the government needs to scrap a financial investment income tax and review various tax schemes regarding stock trading in an effort to ease market uncertainty and help boost the stock market. Under the investment income tax scheme, set to take effect next year, capital gains of over 50 million won ($38,000) from stock investments will be subject to a 20 percent tax, while earnings exceeding 300 million won will be subject to a 25 percent tax. "The sch

Sept. 10, 2024

Young Koreans with bad credit surge

The number of young South Koreans with delinquent loans has rapidly increased in the past three years, data by the state-run financial watchdog showed Monday. As of July, 65,887 people in their 20s have been registered at the Korea Credit Information Services as "delinquent borrowers," referring to people who are disadvantaged in financial transactions due to long-standing credit card or bank debt. This figure marked a 25.3 percent increase from the 52,580 delinquent borrowers in the s

Sept. 9, 2024

FSC chief calls on mutual savings banks to swiftly address risks on PF loans

The chief of the financial regulator urged mutual savings banks Monday to recommit themselves to their basic duty of serving their communities, also calling on them to quickly address risks on loans extended to real estate projects. Kim Byoung-hwan, chair of the Financial Services Commission, made the call in a meeting with top officials from five major mutual savings banks and credit cooperatives, including Nonghyup. "The mutual banking sector has long contributed to the balanced developme

Sept. 9, 2024

[Hello India] India makes fresh overture to lure Korean financial firms

India’s financial regulators boasted their fast-growing economy and young workforce at a rare investment forum held in Seoul on Friday, making a fresh overture to lure Korean investments. The event, co-hosted by Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service and the Embassy of India here, featured key officials from Indian financial regulatory bodies and drew around 140 executives from Korean financial institutions. “India is emerging as a global production hub with remarkable growth i

Sept. 8, 2024

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July

South Korea racked up a current account surplus for the third consecutive month in July, driven by robust exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $9.13 billion in July, marking a surplus for the third consecutive month, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The July surplus was smaller than the previous month's $12.56 billion, the largest since September 2017. The country's goods account racked up an $8.49 billion surplus in July followi

Sept. 6, 2024

[HIT Forum] Honing diplomatic skill of businesses

To safeguard their interest and tackle the threat of geopolitical risk to their operations in foreign markets, Korean firms are asked to develop the skills and mindset of the diplomat, and their first job is understanding the fast-changing regulatory environment with a long-term commitment, experts said Thursday “Diplomacy is no longer just a matter of national defense and security. It is an economic issue directly related to the country's future livelihood. At the center are compan

Sept. 5, 2024

Foreign reserves up for 2nd month in Aug. on weak dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves increased for the second straight month in August on the back of the increased value of non-US dollar assets and investment gains, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves had come to $415.92 billion as of end-August, up $2.41 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The central bank attributed the increase to a rise in the converted value of non-dollar assets amid the weak greenback an

Sept. 4, 2024

BOK chief says time to consider rate cut as inflation cools

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Tuesday the time has come to "sufficiently consider" a rate cut as the nation's consumer inflation cooled. "In terms of stability of consumer prices, it is time to sufficiently consider lowering a benchmark interest rate," Rhee told reporters at a forum in Seoul. Rhee said the central bank would review an "appropriate timing" for a rate cut, in his strongest signal yet about a policy pivot. In a meeting of the parliamen

Sept. 3, 2024

AmCham partners with Tools for Humanity for privacy protection

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea joined hands with Tools for Humanity, the developer of Worldcoin, to stress the importance of personal data protection in the era of artificial intelligence. On Tuesday, the two entities signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony held in Seoul, agreeing to launch the “#IAmHuman” campaign here, highlighting the importance of safeguarding personal identity within an AI-driven economy. “The partnership is focused on promoting the p

Sept. 3, 2024

Inflation falls to 2% target

South Korea may be nearing the end of its fight against inflation, as the rate of rising prices eased to the 2 percent target last month, backed by a retreat in the prices of international crude oil and farm produce, data showed Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index, a key gauge of inflation, advanced 2 percent on-year last month, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest advance since 1.9 percent in March 2021. CPI inflation, which remained at 1.9 percent in March 2021, reached its peak at 6

Sept. 3, 2024

Better Korea-Mongolia cooperation can reduce trade reliance on China: officials

South Korea and Mongolia need to strengthen cooperation on the supply of critical minerals to lessen their trade reliance on China, officials and experts from the two countries said at the Korea-Mongolia Vision Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Co-hosted by Herald Media Group and the Ahnsei Foundation, the forum was held at the Novotel in the Mongolian capital on Aug. 27. During the session titled “Core Minerals Cooperation Plan," participants discussed ways for the two countries to wor

Sept. 2, 2024

Korea, Mongolia explore energy cooperation at Vision Forum

South Korean and Mongolian government officials discussed opportunities for cooperation in green energy, mineral resources and trade, emphasizing a shared vision for mutual growth and strategic partnership at the 2024 Korea-Mongolia Vision Forum held Tuesday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. About 250 representatives from the government, state-run organizations and academic and political sectors attended the event co-hosted by the Ahnsei Foundation, Herald Corporation, Yonsei University and Korea Univer

Sept. 1, 2024

[Photo News] Smart ambassadors boost Hana

Hana Financial Group on Friday concluded the 18th round of its Smart Ambassador program, a three-month initiative promoting its ESG, or environmental, social and governance activities. In the photo, Vice President Lee Eun-hyung (second row, center) poses with the student ambassadors during the closing ceremony at the company's headquarters in Myeong-dong, Seoul. Since June, 50 college students have engaged in various projects such as creating public relations content, visiting Hana affiliat

Sept. 1, 2024

Banks tighten curbs on mortgage loans amid worries over rising home prices in Seoul

Banks in South Korea started tightening curbs on mortgage loans on Sunday, officials said, amid concerns over rising housing prices in Seoul and household debts. The move came as the Financial Services Commission asked banks to toughen screenings for new mortgage borrowers and to reduce the size of loans available under the tightened criteria. The stress debt service ratio (DSR), which measures how much a borrower has to pay for principal and interest in proportion to their yearly income, serves

Sept. 1, 2024

Exports rise for 11th straight month in August on strong chip demand

South Korea's exports extended their on-year gains for the 11th straight month in August, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments rose 11.4 percent on-year to $57.9 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports increased 6 percent on-year to $54 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.83 billion. South Korea has maintained a trade surplus for 15 consecutive months. By sector, exports of ch

Sept. 1, 2024

Nearly 60% of major Korean companies have no immediate hiring plans in H2

Some 57.5 percent of major corporations in South Korea have either not set up plans to recruit new employees in the second half of this year or do not plan to hire at all, a survey showed Thursday. In a recent survey of the top 500 companies by sales, 40 percent said they do not yet have plans to hire college graduates while 17.5 percent said they are not looking for recruits. The poll was conducted on Aug. 5-19 by local pollster Research and Research, under the commission of the Federation of

Aug. 31, 2024

Tax revenue falls 8.8 tr won through July on weak corporate earnings

South Korea's tax revenue fell 8.8 trillion won ($6.59 billion) from a year earlier over the first seven months of 2024, due to the lackluster corporate earnings, data showed Friday. The government collected 208.8 trillion won of taxes over the January-July period, down 4 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In July alone, however, the country's total tax revenue increased 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier, reaching

Aug. 30, 2024

Industrial output falls 0.4% in July on weak demand for chips, cars

South Korea's industrial output fell for the third consecutive month in July due to sluggish production in the semiconductor and automobile sectors, data showed Friday. Industrial output decreased 0.4 percent on-month in July, following a 0.1 percent drop the previous month, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, however, industrial output increased 2.7 percent in July, the data showed. "While industrial output has decreased for three consecutive

Aug. 30, 2024

Combined net loss of savings banks widens in H1

Savings banks in South Korea saw their combined net loss widen in the first half from a year earlier, due largely to a sharp increase in loan-loss reserves set aside for real estate project financing (PF) loans, data showed Friday. The banks posted a combined net loss of 380.4 billion ($284.5 million) in the January-June period, sharply up from a net loss of 96.5 billion won over the same period last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Their interest income came t

Aug. 30, 2024